


Wild Pumpkins and Cultivated Oranges

by Chemicalclowns



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Awkwardness, Chapters all 2000+ words, Dirk freelances, Dirk is a stage hand, Dirk is messy AF, Dirk works with machines and hes good at it, Excuses excuses, Extrovert!Jake, Family band, Fluff, I know nothing about machines, I swear I'll be better after chapter two, I write as I go, Introvert!Dirk, Jade's a drummer, Jake breaks stuff so Dirk will fix it, Jake has a tattoo and its hot, Jake is resident troublemaker and good boy, Jake plays the guitar, Jam Fic, Janes a good friend, Janes the manager, John plays the bass Roxy plays the keyboard, M/M, Might add Dave/John, Not Beta Read, Roxy Jake John and Jade are in a band, Smut planned hence the rating, The striders are twins au, Wild Pumpkins is their name, sorta - Freeform, they take turns singing like good friends, wheezes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2019-02-22 14:10:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13168575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chemicalclowns/pseuds/Chemicalclowns
Summary: “Sir, look.. Can’t you just help a chap out?”Tap, tap, tap, light push, and a small wiggle of his boot with a large hand.To clarify things he wasn’t trying to be a douche by not answering him and to give him credit he had said something when he first came in asking where the back lounge and offices were to which the answer was a quick:“Follow the doors that say ‘Offices’ I’m busy.”That answer had seemed to work when the voice had left... for about three minutes.----TL:DR: Dirk is hired in to make sure the stage equipment is set up for a concert for a few bands playing that night, one of whom are the Wild Pumpkins, a band where Jake's the Guitarist.Jam Fic.





	1. Poke and nudge

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I started this as a sort of 'warm up' to another fic I'm trying to put together. Neither of them are related but I always have issues starting fan-fictions which lead to me never posting them and then just dropping it //sweats
> 
> So going off that this is a jam fic and I have no beta to read this before I post it so go easy on me but also like??? I'd appreciate some feedback? Not enough dialog? Not descriptive enough? Be soft but also tear me apart baes
> 
> Hopefully after chapter one or two things will be smooth sailing since its no more of that crappy 'writing openings to stories' writers block.
> 
> Also if you wondered where the original end notes to this chapter went it turns out the first end notes stay on every chapter after that and urgh I didn't like that- anywho TL:DR was I'm sorry if it ended weird I wasn't sure how to continue at the time but I figured it out uwu/

To be honest he didn’t he even know what kind of music this band wrote much less what the musicians looked like. 

Okay that was a half lie, he remembered very vividly that when he was hired in to help set up the venue how the manager to Wild Pumpkins tried her damn hardest to make it very clear who the performers she managed were and that they were important or at the very least more important than the crew and under no circumstances were they to mistake them for fans and throw them out. Dirk had a sneaking feeling that happened before, and it caused her trouble or at least enough that she was worried of the possibility it could happen again so far be it from him that when the bucktoothed girl with a firm hand gave him a flyer with the band and their set up list for the concert he took it without complaint. The fact that he neither looked at the paper or read it was beside the point. The point was he remembered that between the moment the flyer was handed to him and when it ended up in the trash beside the door he noticed three out of the four members had dark hair and to be honest he couldn’t help but put the image of a family band in his head.

So, you know, he wasn’t completely clueless.

Dirk was hired in to make sure all the electrical equipment was set up properly. For him this was a very simple job but also one that didn’t require him to communicate with anyone beyond filing forums and the occasional _“Don’t do that.”_. He knew exactly what he was doing and if there was anything he needed done immediately he did it himself to avoid it being done wrong the first time- afterall there was a reason they had specifically called in someone with a higher education and was probably _way_ too over qualified to do this job. So, when it came to him lying under the mixing station, partially concealed by the hanging metal square he had just unscrewed, he really hadn’t found it a possibility that anyone actually important was trying to get his attention through the incessant kicking of his feet he was currently undergoing. And you know what? He was originally hell bent on ignoring it but now he was just wondering how long this guy was going to keep this up. Currently he was at 15 minutes and counting.

“Sir, look.. Can’t you just help a chap out?”

Tap, tap, tap, light push, and a small wiggle of his boot with a large hand.

To clarify things he wasn’t trying to be a douche by not answering him and to give him credit he had said something when he first came over asking where the back lounge and offices were to which the answer was a quick:  
“Follow the doors that say ‘Offices’ I’m busy.” 

That answer had seemed to work when the voice had left for about three minutes until the stranger returned, preluded by nervous shuffling, he began begging for him to please just get up and show me I’d be most thankful. See the problem with that little request was that at this moment Dirk was elbow deep trying to chip free the end of a corroded wire so he can get this piece of crap back in working condition (sorry, this _very important_ piece of crap), so he could do his final rounds and ultimately go home. He didn’t have time for some stage hand who had probably been sitting around for the past hour thinking he was done, trying to find the bathrooms or just to grab a bottle of water until his shift ended. 

“Come on! This will only take a moment, I can’t find it on my own, can’t you help me?”

With another shake to his leg, the hand having traveled up past his ankle this time, the foreign voice let out a shaky hum. “Whatever your doing, can't it wait just a tad? “  
The blonde released a loud and frustrated sigh if only to keep up the charade of doing some sort of hard work, though he had to admit this thing was stuck on there and holding on for dear life. Ah yes, it’s dear wire life. “I know for a fact there are at least three other people within earshot, go ask them.”  
For the second time that night he thought that answer was enough and wondered if their little meeting had come to an end when the man stopped for a moment, metal clanked, and the room suddenly got very quiet before Dirk heard some fast shuffling from around him and the voice once again returned, a little more nervous sounding then it previously was. “See I don’t think they want to help me, come please? I really can’t be late, I’ve never been at such a large venue before and think of how much trouble I’d be causing everyone if I wasn’t on time.” There was a distinct ‘oof’ noise before he assumed the other finally decided to sit beside him- murmuring to himself about some Jane person whom Dirk recognized as the name of the manager of one of the bands.

The next tap to his leg caught the blonde unexpectedly off guard as the screwdriver he had been using slipped and nearly stabbed his other hand in the same moment his guest slapped his knee, the next highest point on his leg. “It’ll be nice and quick, and I’ll be out of your hair huh? A Little adventure!” the fact he had said that so enthusiastically while Dirk’s heart jumped from the scare was more than he could handle when he decidingly just tossed his tool to the side with a groan. He took a moment to just stare at the deep pit of wires and boards over him while he calmed himself down, he could see a dark shadow of what he guessed was the man peeking down to try and see him. Using a screwdriver really was wishful thinking, he should be using a proper tool even though he doubted this place had what he needed, having wire clippers and small wrench would do the trick in half the time…. And besides he really should be doing the other half of his job and at the very least get this guy out of his hair.  
His orange eyes cast a downward glace to the opening where he saw a peek of deep army green pants. Deciding it wouldn't look good being seen playing around with him either, he finally moved the panel out of the way so he could wiggle out.

He wasn’t really expecting what he saw to be honest.

For how chirpy and childish the voice had been he hadn’t really thought this would be what he was faced with. His guest turned out to have dark black hair and tanned skin adorned with a grey tanktop with another, skinnier tank top underneath in what he guessed was supposed to be some sort attempt as fashion-which okay the guy was a little flashy, so what? Well what he really hadn’t expected was the arm sleeve tattoo he found- for someone who was nearly bouncing on their knees from victory for drawing Dirk from his hiding place he would have bet money this guy would have been wearing Easter pastels sucking on a damned lollipop instead of sitting there in eyeliner showing off his tattoos like a proud 3-year-old. Also, he was tall. Now for frame of reference Dirk was tall at nearly 6 feet, this guy would probably be about the same size, perhaps slightly larger if not for the combat boots he was wearing which must have had an extra inch or so, giving this guy quite a bit of clearance over himself.

Dirk didn’t really have time to say anything before the other finally stopped his small pause in excitement where he was looking back at Dirk, green eyes behind black frames dragging over his face, when he was suddenly being pulled up by the elbow to put his own tan boots on the ground, this guy, whom he had already put together was one of the musicians to the band because lets be honest it was unrealistic to think otherwise when you compared him to how everyone else was dressed and Dirk wasn’t stupid- attached himself to his shoulders, an arm secure around one of his own while he bore Dirk like a shield. 

“Right on now you go on and show me the way! Jade and the others were awful to leave me alone while they ran around I’m sure they’re worried sick by this point but really its their fault for leaving me alone at the gates! They know how I am! First off I don’t know this place second of all its so large I had to take a gander at it like anyone would right? “  
By this point his own orange eyes were scanning the room, focusing on the fact it had more or less cleared out except for the bundle of workers in a nearby hallway who were giving Dirk skeptical looks, though when he caught their eyes they were quick to scamper away. He understood what the shuffling sound was now. Did these people run away? Christ, it wasn’t like they were working anyway.

“- in fact, you haven’t said much at all aren’t you a fan?” He sounded disappointed, “Oh, that’s a bit presumptuous of me after all you’re here to work I really do hope I’m not being too troublesome but I’m so thankful for your assistance here I’m Jake English, you? I can’t believe I haven’t asked yet- “

“Dirk Strider.” He finally cut in, having enough of just imagining what they must have looked like to an outsider: one of the band members hanging off his shoulders in an almost hug chattering away so easily- it really didn’t help he was good looking too, better looking now that he stood near Dirk. Compared to Jake he was clad in plain black pants and a black tank which must have been covered in invisible black and yellow dots from the oil he splattered everywhere earlier, which by the way was still probably smeared on his face since he honest to god had a harder time keeping clean while he worked than he’d like to admit. At the thought of it all he gave the other a small shove, trying to free himself at least a little, being so close was a little suffocating.

He’d lived alone and didn’t really have any friends to speak of so to say he hadn’t ever had anyone act so familiar with him was an understatement – not that he was really complaining. This guy was good looking. The kind you would have swore was more shop than photo. Jesus, he hoped he didn’t do this with every stranger he met, he could see how many problems that could cause.

“Dirk?"

“Yes?” he replied head shifting weirdly to the side so he could see him. Jake just sort of made a few nonsensical noises for a moment before he replied with a quick “I just uh, wanted.. Never mind. “

With that out of the way, and Dirk deciding he wasn’t going to be able to put arms length between the two of them, he started making his way out of the side stage area and towards the back zone. He found it easy for him to move through the maze full of hallways, having been here for two days already though doing so at a more sluggish pace than he would normally- turns out his long, slow strides didn’t match up with the quick steps of Jake’s and even though it was uncomfortable the most the other was willing to compromise was releasing his shoulder so he could walk on the side of the arm he was holding instead of trudging behind him, his head staying close to Dirk's own. He found it a little weird but when he turned to say something about it all he was faced with was the dopey look of Jake staring at him so instead he pointed at the signs and in a more deadpan than usual said: 

“Signs, just like I said. “


	2. Dragged About and Shouted at

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “His name is Dirk, what a name that is. I’ve never heard of it, is it common where you come from, you must be foreign. Have you traveled much?”
> 
> “You’ve caught me I’m from Japan.” He really shouldn’t have chosen for sarcasm to be his first words because Jade and Jake simultaneously perked up. “I’m joking.” He was quick to pop that bubble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't help but post this immediately I had way too much fun introducing the main crew and how they interacted among each other! Also I've decided that this will be fine on its own so no fantasy as of now! uwu
> 
> Also sorry for any mistakes I started writing this at like 12 and after a nap its currently 6 AM.

The walk home had gone by oddly fast considering he lived a couple miles away from the venue and he hadn’t really expected to be walking home at all. He had taken a bus there but due to... circumstances he had obviously missed the last run easily by an hour. Why the buses stopped working at eleven and didn’t run all night was beyond him but that was another thought for another time. Right now, it was about one in the morning and he had finally managed to make it to his apartment building, trudging down the familiar back alley street to the side door, up the stairs (the elevator was broken and even if it had worked he was sure he’d never use it) to the top floor. Up here there were only four suites whereas the other floors had double that, easy. The fact that two of the suits up here were owned by Striders and the other two snow birds really shouldn’t say as much as it did. 

Dirk gave a sidelong glance to the door across form his, naturally still abuzz with loud noises- a mix of videogame sounds and music from a surround-sound he himself set up. This didn’t necessarily mean he was awake, unlike his twin, Dave went to bed rather early but liked to have as much noise on as possible. Whether this was because it was a reflex from when he was a teen and forgot to turn his shit off before he went to bed or if it made him more comfortable was a puzzle Dirk frequently thought about.  
But back to his own problems.

Finally getting inside his own apartment, he snapped the door shut and began to set up his alarm system without actually locking the door itself. It wasn’t until he was face down on his couch that he was able to let the events of the previous few hours consume him.

Jake had found the lounge he needed with far too much ease with Dirk to be alright with considering he was still held hostage via arm and the whole reason he had been pulled away from work at all was because he had been lost.

He had burst into the room with so much energy nearly everyone sitting inside had jumped a good foot from their chairs- While Dirk himself was trying to stay standing, Jake was trying to simultaneously thump his chest and fist pump into the air. “I made it! On time might I add and on my own no thanks to you lot! How’s that for independence ladies and gents?”

The blonde girl on the far side of the room whom had been lounging easily on an armchair began rolling into the cushions with laughter- she tried to contribute but ultimately found this scenario far too funny for _whatever_ reason, her mini skirt ruffled up too far as she churned, pink undies revealing themselves about the same time the pink streaks in her hair did.

However much she seemed to be enjoying this, Jane, the only person in this room he recognized, had not. Her face was dusted pink with worry, her much less revealing skirt wrinkled from where her fingers had been twined in it- she charged in on Jake. “And just why did you feel the need to do any sort of independence-ing Sir! I was worried sick do you have any idea how close you were cutting it? We have less than thirty minutes until our rehearsal block is over, the concert starts in an hour and your second to play!” 

“Well- I well you see it wasn’t my fault! Truly!” Jake stumbled out, finally releasing Dirk so he could huddle behind him and point accusingly at the noirette duo at the other side of the room. The two of them both bore the same characteristics as Jake; tan skin, glasses, and black hair included. The only thing keeping Dirk from assuming they were triplets was the fact the boy was far shorter than Jake with blue eyes currently squinted in an attempt to keep from keeling over in giggles like the girl beside him was doing, a girl who very obviously had dimples when she laughed which for someone like Dirk was a redflag- family? Perhaps. Triplets they were not. 

“Us?” A small giggle escaped to which the boy tried to stifle with a snort “I had to use the restroom I left him with Jade! Jade how could you?”

“Yeah I left him.” Jade, presumably, admitted to which she got a glare and a “Jade Harley!” from Jane.

“But Jake was the one to say he could find his way through any maze, Jane come on, John even made a bet with him!”

“Did not!” John cut it with a voice that clearly admitted otherwise

Dirk could definitely see how these four could be mistaken for fans instead of actual musicians and he gave a small look of pity to Jane who was now shaking a very stern finger at the two. 

“Do you two have any idea how much these… these... _**Shenanigans**_ get you in trouble! What would have happened if he got lost? What if he got taken away by a stranger?”

Jade pipped in with an “He’s twenty-three!” at the same time Jake called out “I did get lost though!”

The blonde girl in the corner, whom was now all but hanging off the arm rest backwards finally took a wheezing breath and stumbled out a: “And he brought a stranger too oh my goddd” before she went back into her fits of giggles, finally slumping her way to the floor shoulders first.

Dirk sighed when her neon undies flapped back into full display.

Jane seemed to have finally noticed this as she made the time to round on the final member of the group, waving her arms up to give the girl some sort of modesty. “Roxy!”

“Janey you’ll never know the feeling of being free until you’re in public in just your underwear.”

“ _Roxy._ ”

As… entertaining as this was, Dirk found himself walking back to the door, having made it close enough to the handle before he was pulled back into the room by Jake’s warm hand. 

“Come on all hush up don’t you want to meet up with my new pal? Jane do you know him? He said himself he was doing very important work.”

Work that he’d very much like to get back to. This was really too much for him- dealing with one person was little more than a breeze but unless they were talking strictly work he wasn’t really sure what todo with himself in a situation like this. Though he had to admit without the option to leave, he supposed having Jake hang off him helped somewhat.

Jane stayed turned away as she knelt down to fix Roxy herself, convincing the girl to sit criss-cross-apple-sauce by her chair by the time she was next able to turn around, by which point Jade had already honed in on him- eyeing his tanktop with such plain interest it didn’t make the proximity too bad. He liked this tank top- it was one of the 30 his brother had ordered him for his birthday. Had an orange hat smack dab in the middle right where it obviously wasn’t meant to be. Unfortunately for him that didn’t help the fact there was oil splattered over it and Jade probably didn’t understand how funny it was supposed to be. Not that most people did or that it mattered, her eyes drifted to studying his face rather quickly and with a speedy check he found both of the other members of the band eyeing him as well in varying levels of discreet.

“His name is Dirk, what a name that is. I’ve never heard of it, is it common where you come from, you must be foreign. Have you traveled much?”

“You’ve caught me I’m from Japan.” He really shouldn’t have chosen for sarcasm to be his first words because Jade and Jake simultaneously perked up. “I’m joking.” He was quick to pop that bubble.

Jane herself was off to the side where a table was sat out, peeking into a folder. “Dirk as in Mr. Strider?” She tested, to which Dirk gave a nod. “Ah yes then you must be the freelancer, I saved your card.” To prove it she pulled his card from her folder, to which Roxy pipped up from her spot on the floor. “What exactly is that?”

“Sunglasses.”

“Isn’t it just the cutest card?” Alright not what he was going for but whatever. “I couldn’t help but- oof hold on a moment!” She suddenly stomped her foot down, Jake shuffling back behind Dirk- connecting the dots with such ease that only came from years of experience. “Jake, you were late what do you think you’re doing just standing there! We need to get to the back set to practice as in now! That means you three as well, off your fanny Roxy! And don’t think we won’t be having a good long talk about the lesson of when things are not appropriate!” Jane punctuated her spell with her fists connecting to her hips, her A-line skirt poofing out in such a way she struck quite the motherly figure if not a frightening one with too much finality for someone who couldn’t have been taller than 5’4.

Everything was quite a rush after that- Jake was hell bent on keeping Dirk with him for as long as possible- so he was with them when picking up their equipment from the holding bay but when Jane deemed him a distraction after the third or fourth try at them starting a song he was finally shooed from the back stage area he’d set up the day before- though not without Jake making puppy eyes trying to silently reason with the woman (a battle he’d obviously lost), Dirk was finally set free. In total the whole ‘event’, as he’d like to call it, took about an hour of his time, putting him two hours late to go home- two and a half after he was finally able to return to work and finish his rounds.  
While getting back to what he was supposed to be doing had helped, the walk home immensely so, he was still a little dazed over the whole thing even now. 

It wasn’t like anything outrageous happened- nothing he’d write home about. It wasn’t life changing and nothing even Dave would find the least bit entertaining. The whole scenario was just him being dragged about and shouted at- if only because he was a shield for the real target. But for Dirk it was different. He didn’t hang out with anyone. His brother was the one exception due to the fact they’re the only living blood relatives and well, Striders didn’t normally branch out. Or at least that’s what they both thought was the case as neither of them really tried. 

Dirk strider didn’t make friends, didn’t go to parties in high school and sure as hell didn’t have the chance while he sped run through his entire online course load in a matter of weeks per semester in college. If anything, this was the closest he had gotten to any sort of party, family reunion or ‘hanging with a friend’. He allowed the whole night to run again and again in his head as his eyes looked at an empty pizza box sitting on the floor in front of his couch where he normally sat.  
After about twenty minutes he came to a conclusion on how he really felt about everything that had happened and he had found he both really liked it and found it morbidly exhausting.

He also found he was upset he probably wouldn’t get another chance to experience that again.

 

By three o’clock he was already trying to put it behind him, working on a personal desktop a client had ordered- his silent apartment a stark contrast to the one still raging across the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here I tried to make it obvious Dirk was a little unsuited to the situation of talking to a large group of people because I'd like to say he'd never done so before in a setting like this where its friendly conversation and not like- say- reading a list or paper in front of everyone or telling people what to do after-all as a freelance worker although he'd be qualified to be in charge the whole point of having this job was that he could handle everything himself without worrying about other people.
> 
> Next chapter I'm thinking of putting things into Jane's POV to see Jake's reaction the next day! That cool with everyone? 
> 
> Thanks for all the kudos and hits by the way! I wasn't even expecting one of anything to be honest.


	3. His Panties are Twisted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Jakey, come on babe don’t you wanna talk to us girls about what’s got your manly panties in a twist?” Roxy hummed, Jake visually grimaced along with Jade- Jane assumed it was the word choice.
> 
> “My panties are not twisted.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jane's POV of the morning after
> 
>  
> 
> I was pretty hyped for this in the beginning then i got in touch with an old friend and had to pick up hours later during editing on my tablet i hope i didnt miss anything :'^C

If Jane was being frank, she was beginning to get worried about Jake.

Last night was stressful to say the least but all five had all been very excited to apply for the position to play and when Jane had been told they had gotten through- well when she had broken the news needless to say the group had a very rowdy night at Roxy’s! The actual night of the event was rougher on Ms. Crocker in particular than anyone else in the cluster and in fact, with how at ease everyone was, she doubted they did much work at all besides get up on stage and play their six songs. But right around now everyone should be on top of the world.

Which was why she was so confused as to why she was in the position she was in currently. At the moment her, Roxy, Jade and Jake were in the Harley home- the largest out of the group and the only one that was an actual house, if you could really call it that; the _house_ sat on a property that could easily fit Jane’s and Roxy’s apartment building twice with amble space for parking and a nice little garden. Jake, Jade and John all lived together here, each with their own room and bathroom and even then, there was two spare bedrooms for their two friends as well as a study that has probably never seen the light of day. The building had been left to the trio after… well she wasn’t quite sure who had died and left it to them if she was being honest! While Jade and John were siblings, them and Jake were cousins but none of them were quite sure if they were distant, second or first, it seemed like no one had ever decided to really explain it to them but when they were younger she supposed they were always very close, or close enough that when their very wealthy family member died it had been decided they deserved to have the place to themselves. She’d really like to figure out the story in greater detail one day since as she understood it now, it didn’t make a lick of sense. 

Speaking of this mysterious family member, Jane tapped her foot nervously as she stared down a portrait of a man in a beard on the opposite wall of the Livingroom they were all converged at. Beside her Roxy was brushing back Jake’s hair as he stared at the very same photo with a very firm frown on his face. After the act last night, instead of walking around the little festival like they had all decided together Jake had disappeared and hadn’t been seen again until a few hours later when Jade found him by the stage stewing on a step like a kicked puppy, as she had put it. He’d been pouting ever since. 

Jane sighed and walked back to the couch, settling down by his feet instead of on the floor like Jade had taken to. 

“Jakey, come on babe don’t you wanna talk to us girls about what’s got your manly panties in a twist?” Roxy hummed, Jake visually grimaced along with Jade- Jane assumed it was the word choice.

“My panties are not _twisted_. “

“Well,” Jane cut in softly, to which Jake let out a small breath, she raised her hands up to apologize. “Perhaps not your underwear, but something is bothering you. We’re just worried is all you’ve been acting weird ever since we got off stage last night.”

The boy turned more into Roxy’s lap and though she couldn’t see his face, Jane could see his ears reddening. After a stuffy moment, one that left Jade leaning closer, he finally answered. “You’d laugh.”

“Why is it funny?” Jade pipped in- Roxy kicked her a little too hard at that. “What I mean is!” she scooted away from the blonde’s legs. “We really just want to know how we can help. John’s at his class right now so it’s just the four of us.”

Jane could hear the silent- _he’s not here to laugh at you._

While they all loved John very dearly he wasn’t always the best to confide in- at 20 he was the youngest out of the group and he had always been the more rambunctious out of the two siblings. Not that Jade helped stop that little trait of his. But out of the pair, John didn’t have much of a filter whereas Jade’s was in tack. This was something Jane knew personally bothered John a lot- saying things without thinking about it, stuff he didn’t mean. 

Probably feeling a little reassured Jake turned his face out again, finally pushing himself up so that instead of being curled up in the fetal position in Roxy’s lap, he was now snug between the two girls on the couch. “It’s just…” He paused again and let out another sigh, slouching in his spot and dragging his head down the back of the cushions. 

The room was silent again, Jane waiting for him to continue when out of nowhere Jade spoke up again. “That guy last night. Is this about him?”

“Mr. Strider?” Jane was a little surprised, she had well and truly forgot about that in favor of worrying about their schedule and then this whole deal with Jake; with a glace at the tattooed boy squirming in his seat, she let out a small “Oh.”

Yes, while Jake had always been very friendly and positive he had always been the type to get nervous around meeting new people. Not that he didn’t warm up fast enough. Jake had several friends online that he’d met over his years of moving around but lord only knows how many times he had gotten into trouble with fans because he honest to god couldn’t figure out how to turn them down. Friendly and handsome, not always the best combination for someone like Jake. If Jane was remembering correctly his eyes had been glued to the boy the entire time they were in the same room and if he got more than a few feet away he always corralled him back. As friendly as he was, Jake English wasn’t one to keep a stranger who obviously was so uncomfortable where he stood, so close by. Heck he was more than often that uncomfortable stranger.

Something panged in Jane’s chest.

“Well, I mean,” Jake’s hands opened and closed, waving up and down as if he was trying to physically grab on to the words he wanted to say. “He was so nice?”

“Nice huh?” Roxy gave a sly smile, eyebrow rising too much into her hairline for Jane’s liking. “And pretty too.”

“Well yes, among other things.” 

“Mind sharing these other things Jake?” Jade leaned on her cousin’s knees, an eyebrow joining Roxy’s.

“He was… he was just nice! Top notch Jade did you see him?” He finally exploded and Jane could already hear the oncoming rambling he normally does begin to charge its way to his mouth. “He seemed so invested in his work, I saw him around the set everywhere- he knows how to do so many things! I don’t know half the stuff he’d been hell bent on fiddling with, I really should have paid more attention to him because by the time I’d found my way to the offices I’d finally figured out what to say and I could tell Roxy! I could tell he knew I was lying, have you seen his eyes?”

To that Roxy’s grin grew wider as she gave a vigorous nod as she egged him on. “How could I miss them right?” 

“ **Right** , they were capturing, weren’t they?” He gave a wistful sigh, somehow slumping more but this time not in the same mournful way he had before. “I bet he saw right through that charade, but you guys like him well enough didn’t you? I thought you might he was just so calming and nice-“ there was that word again _nice._ “he didn’t even yell at me when I practically threw myself at him I’m sure he thinks I’m needy or an idiot.” Jake let out a loud groan when he smacked his face, fingers curling in his bangs. “No wonder he ran out the first moment he could, I’m never going to see him again and I feel down right doggish about the whole thing.”

“I have his card, you know.” Jane put a comforting hand on Jake’s leg, head stooping down a little so she could see his eyes, she felt ashamed to admit to herself that she didn’t like the spark she saw in them. “Why don’t you call him? If he’s any sort of kind individual I’m sure he found you charming, everyone always does.” Out of the corner of her eye she could see the other two girls staring at her, Roxy in particular looking away after a moment. 

“What would I even say to him?”

“Well he works on machines, doesn’t he?” Jade supplied and at that Jake looked up to meet her gaze.

“Well I suppose so but what’s that have to do with anything?”

“We have hoards of stuff in this house your telling me there’s nothing in here he might find interesting?” Jake didn’t seem to catch on to his cousin’s tone because after a pause where all he was giving was a confused look Roxy let out a groan and got up, bare feet padding over to one of the many music equipment they had brought out yesterday not knowing if they needed to supply their own amps or not. She picked up a few things, an octaver pedal, a tuner, then finally just sitting down right on top of the amp they used for Jake’s guitar, promptly lifted her foot and slammed it down right on top of the nobs, popping the three knobs bundled together in the front right off- it looked like it hurt and by the way she held onto her heel with a small look of pain she’d guess it really did, she’d worried for her if not for the look of instant gratification that replaced it soon afterwards.

“Roxy!” Jake whined, getting up to join her, bending over to pick up the buttons she’d knocked off. “I just replaced this!”

“It’s fine just have it fixed.” Jade hummed, getting up to take Jake’s spot on his couch, legs resting in Jane’s lap. 

“Why…” Jane would have groaned at how long it took Jake to figure stuff out if she hadn’t found it so endearing, the look he got when he finally reached the rest of them at the finish line was blinding. “This is perfect!” He called out, eyes wide and clutching the nobs like they were gold. He quickly turned back to Jane, smiling wide. “You think he’ll fix this up?”

“There’s really only one way to see, I’ll give you his information after lunch.”

Jake deflated just a bit. “Oh well… I don’t suppose there’s any need to rush.”

Jade eyed him, clasping her fingers behind her head. “And what’s so wrong with rushing Jake?”

“You could always see if he does house calls,” Roxy waggled her brows. “You are a rock star, can’t be giving out those precious digits to just anyone Jakey.”

Jade went into a bought of giggles at that, eyes squeezing shut and her squirming not helping whatsoever with that rat’s nest she had yet to brush out. Jake’s only response was to go two shades darker.

“Well it’s not a bad idea Jade!’ Roxy, though still holding her foot puffed out her chest some, smile creeping on her face even though she was trying to pull that bossy look. “You’ve gotta get your foot in the door asap!”

Jane decided to finally rise to her feet while the other girls continued to friendly-scream at each other about the basics of _“Getting in on their territory”_ – She’d had enough of this conversation and she’d all but worn herself dry trying to keep a friendly look on her face through the whole thing. She gave a small pat on Jake’s shoulder as she passed him.

“Sandwiches for lunch and I’m thinking I’ll finally use those sundried tomatoes for Tuscan chicken tonight. Once I'm set I’ll get right on finding that card for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The hits have finally reached above 150 and im screamss ahhh
> 
> Anythin you guys wanna see when they meet up finally?  
> What about later?


	4. He Didn't Hit It With a Rock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Wait, is this all?”
> 
> “What?”
> 
> “The knobs?”
> 
> “Well! You see they sort of just fell off? I’ve been having trouble with the darned thing for a while now you see... The knobs wouldn’t turn like they should so I guess this is as good as time as any to fix that?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehe okay so it's been a couple weeks and I don't have a good explanation other than I really thought this chapter wasn't that good but it was a hurtle I had to get over for the fluff of this not-date these two will have soon //wheezes
> 
> sorry lol
> 
> ALSO GUYS
> 
> I got fanart of this fic like woah? It's by Merupuri on tumblr and I'm in love owo/  
> They drew Jake playing his instrument ahhhh <3  
> -> https://merupuri.tumblr.com/post/169078158137/fic-wild-pumpkins-and-cultivated-oranges-by
> 
> I'm not sure if I've mentioned this but I'm on tumblr / twitter under the same username: Chemicalclowns  
> if you wanna draw me stuff for any fics I do I'll always be sure to give a shout out in the notes!
> 
> One last time I'd like to thank you all for all the support I've been getting through kudos and the comments <3<3

Living on the top floor had several perks, one being that they never had to worry about hearing the people above them stomping or yelling; living on the top floor with their other two neighbors not around most of the year meant that when Dirk and Dave sat down to watch movies or play video games that they could turn the volume up as high as they wanted and could yell at each other without worrying about pissing anyone they saw frequently off. 

At the moment Dave was huddled in on Dirk’s couch, PlayStation controller nestled comfortably on his stomach as he lounged with his legs propped on the arm rest. Currently he was playing a project diva game which he himself didn’t own but Dirk had informed him was “A true challenge.” And “a real treat”. Which, by the way Dave’s eyebrows were knit above his sunglasses as he failed for the third time at ‘butterfly on my left shoulder’ on standard difficulty- it looked like his brother was right. Again.

Dirk himself was stationed at the bar top separating the kitchen from the Livingroom, fingers typing away replies to his work E-mail. The whole reason for this E-mail was so he could get in contact with jobs but more often than not it turned into him just giving advice to 50-somethings who were convinced their computers weren’t working and, well, as in-need of some coin as he was, Dirk couldn’t find it in himself to have 54-year-old Sandy pay him his base fee of 50 bucks for him to tell her she just needed to unplug and re-plug her router: _Yes, the little black thing with antenna under your tv._

In total it had been two days since his encounter with Wild Pumpkins and he felt like he was getting along fine.

Perfectly normal.

He was chill.

Over it.

“Over what?”

Shit.

Dirk tilted his head up from where he had been apparently mumbling at his computer, seeing Dave had since tossed the controller to the floor where a coffee table should have been but hadn’t ever lived. When Dirk didn’t answer right away and this little staring contest they had going on didn’t seem to have a winner in sight the younger of the two finally shuffled into sitting up, legs still dangling over the side and his fingers moving his sunglasses up into his hair. With sunglasses gone Dirk could see his sharp red eyes and how much brighter it made his hair in comparison. He himself used to wear a pair as well but he had long since stopped due to the fact he didn’t really care if people stared at him, but then again orange eyes could almost be mistaken as hazel or brown if no one looked too hard (which no one ever did) whereas bright rubies were a bit hard to keep your eye off of.

“So we gonna throw down or what?”

“Not really no.”

Dave set him a look that to Dirk meant he was unconvinced but as Striders do, he dropped it like it was hot, pulling his sunglasses back over his eyes after a moment longer of looking at his twin before turning his body to properly face the TV. Neither of them were the type to really press into a matter if they had to beat the answers out of the other. If it got bad enough one of them would break. Normally. Dave seemed to have moved on as he pulled out into the menu to survey what his brother had in his gaming library. He clearly was done with Miku and her friends which had Dirk a little disappointed.

They stayed like that for a while more, content with silence and the occasional grunt from Dave when he couldn’t find a game that interested him which was fine by Dirk who gave a small smile when his brother would try to scroll through YouTube, not finding anything interesting there on Dirk’s feed either, and reverting back to his games. He watched as he considered What Remains of Edith Finch, thinking he’d finally pick one and stop scuffing his feet into the stained carpet. But no such luck. 

After an hour of them both sitting in silence, Dirk having long since finished typing replies and setting up appointments. He found himself staring aimlessly at his new tab page, rainbow dash and a google search bar judging him harshly as he found his mind wandering again back to the Wild Pumpkins. He shifted his eyes back to his brother skeptically, he could tell from the shift of his head Dave had glanced his way momentarily before turning his attention back to the console. Dirk could tell he’d find a way to bring it up again later since Dave was a curious little shit but it wasn’t like he’d check his search history. 

He learned years back how dangerous that was.

With quick fingers Dirk typed in the group’s name into the search bar, rainbow dash disappearing when the search page popped up. They didn’t have a wiki which was admittedly unhelpful. What he did find was a Discord link, which he didn’t click, as well as a forum and a Facebook page. He went with the Facebook page, happy he could actually get in without an account of his own. There he found a photo from the other night at the top, the blonde girl ( _Roxy_ , his brain supplied) draped over the shoulders of Jane who smiled bashfully. This photo was obviously taken before the whole fiasco with Jake turning up late seeing as they looked to be in a car, bunched together shoulder to shoulder. If he squinted he could almost see Roxy blushing but he didn’t spend too much time analyzing before scrolling through their feed. They reposted a mixture of things ranging from makeup products, Memes, and types of rocks and trees. This account was obviously run by the group and not just by Jane. They seemed to get a lot of comments and replies from other people- photos of fans with merch which was mostly stickers or T-shirts. As far as actually talking about events, those posts were rather sparse, it looked as though they were pretty local as far as popularity... Other than the girls there weren’t too many photos on there which was a disappointment.

His research was put on hold when a sudden knock came from the door.

This was… well with a quick glance between the two came to find that yeah neither of them had ordered anything to eat so that left the twins more or less confused. Dave quirked an eyebrow at his brother before Dirk gave a wave, a silent conversation. Dave ended up being the one to get up and answer it.

“Mr. Strider?”

Dave raised an eyebrow, casting a glance to Dirk who couldn’t quite see who was here despite leaning a tad to the right.

“Yeah?”

There seemed to be some nervous shuffling, Dirk lowering the top of his laptop a little so he could observe.

“W-Well I mean I hope I’m not intruding I just... Well golly you look different today?”

With that Dave put his hand up, effectively stopping the mumblings of their visitor. “You looking for Dirk?”

There wasn’t an answer but whatever the other did seemed to leave Dave with a smirk, snapping his head over to Dirk where he was still leaning over the counter top. The look on his face wasn’t all that different from his own deadpan but Dirk could tell, he could tell there was a spark of sudden understanding. And understanding that Dirk was gonna be fucked next time he saw Dave.

“Right.” Dave finally said, leaving the door open after he walked back across the hall. 

Dirk could hear the light click of Dave’s apartment door closing.

Some more shuffling.

“Um?”

Dirk waited a moment longer before finally going to his own door and seeing what the fuss was about. You could have given him thirty guesses and he wouldn’t have ever guessed he would have seen Jake English at his door. Today he was wearing a camo jacket with the sleeves cut off which really didn’t go well with the overwhelming nervous look he was currently wearing. When his green eyes met his own it took him about two beats before his expression brightened up with recognition. 

“Oh it’s you! You live here!”

“Well yeah?”

“Well I mean of course you do it was on your card I just sort of expected it to be some trick, a mailing address for business or something! You know?” Jake was picking at his fingertips as he spoke, eyes glued to his own in a way that almost, _almost_ , had Dirk wishing he had his sunglasses back on. “Anyways you disappeared rather quickly the other night, had to come home for something?” when Dirk didn’t answer he seemed to realize something before pointing to the floor with a wide grin. “Oh right I broke this! I mean it was broken? I figured since you fix things for a job you’d be able to help me out, I can pay you.”

Dirk eyed his brother’s door, imagining him peeping through his eyehole at this whole thing. He fluidly stepped aside, an offer for the noirette to step in, which he accepted eagerly. Dirk narrowed his eyes a little at the door across from his before closing it and turning back to Jake who at this point was stepping through his apartment, looking around like it was way more interesting than it was. When he got too close to the kitchen area Dirk made quick work at snapping his laptop closed.

“Well,” he hummed, gaining the other’s attention. “I’ll take a look at it.” 

“Oh yeah! You might need these?” And with that he dropped a little baggy into Dirk’s open palm, stepping back afterwards with a bashful grin on his face.

“Wait, is this all?”

“What?”

“The knobs?”

“Well! You see they sort of just fell off? I’ve been having trouble with the darned thing for a while now you see... The knobs wouldn’t turn like they should so I guess this is as good as time as any to fix that?”

When Jake was met with a skeptical stare he retreated back to looking at a milk crate full of oil spray and ruined gloves that Dirk hadn’t ever gotten around to throwing out. Which speaking of never getting around to throwing stuff out- Dirk’s apartment in general was messy. There were tapped down construction paper, tools, dishes and cans littered about like the place was a workshop more than a dwelling. Dirk found himself almost wishing Jake had seen his bedroom first which would probably have sounded a lot weirder than it was but he tried settling with himself saying it was only because it was cleaner. 

“Jake these snapped off what did you do with this, hit it with a rock?”

Jake shook his head, waving a hand over his shoulder as he finally settled himself on the couch. “No, no, nothing like that Strider! It fell off the back of the car when we unloaded back home!” He shuffled a little before peeking back at where Dirk was still sat next to the black box, tilting the thing this way and that, trying to see through where the knobs used to be connected but only finding bent springs and darkness. He’d need to open this up if he actually wanted to see anything. “Do you think you can fix it?”

“Well it looks new, wouldn’t it be cheaper to use the warranty and replace it?”

When he didn’t get an answer right away he found Jake looking mildly uncomfortable while pressing his cheek into the back cushions. “I- Well. I just really like that one. Can’t you just fix it for me Dirk, please?”

Orange eyes stared at Jake for a moment, watching as his face reddened a bit and how he turned some more after looking at him properly. Dirk imagined him digging his fingers into his green shirt just out of eye shot. Dirk figured he must really care about this and although he was tempted just to tell him to take it to the store and have them fix it. He… really didn’t want to? Jake came to him.

“Yeah. I can.” Jake perked up a bit at that, eyes meeting his so fast he almost flinched back. “I’ll have to order the parts obviously but it shouldn’t take too long… If I go today I can probably get it fixed by tomorrow.”

“Oh! I can tag along, it’ll make it easier for me to just be there to buy the parts while we’re there together right?” Jake was on his feet and advancing on the door faster than Dirk could find a reason to turn him down. “I can drive us there too, how far do you think it’ll take. A few hours?”

Well he seemed hopeful. 

“Well it really depends on the closest fender outlet. “

“Perfect I think I know exactly where to go, you ready now?” His hand was already on the door, his boots squeaking a bit as he bounced on one heel. 

Dirk wasn’t really sure what he was supposed to say to that so he just went with: “Sure? “

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm literally so ashamed of this chapter I don't know what happened ahrguh  
> Also not to mention I finished this like three days after the last one was posted so other than minor changes I've just been sitting on this and sweating whoops  
> 0-<-<
> 
> Also I've been super antsy to write a mate werewolf or creature fic of these two or like of Creek from South Park and unlike this fic I've actually got a ton of plot ideas??? I might start on it later


End file.
